The Decemberists are apparently getting to their "difficult second album" about seven albums late.

Earlier this week, the Portland indie-folk luminaries announced the release of their eighth album, I'll Be Your Girl, and issued a statement suggesting it would be something of a departure for them.

"When you've been a band for 17 years, inevitably there are habits you fall into," said frontman Colin Meloy. Certainly, that was the case with their last record, 2015's What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, which sounded like the last thing a band this far into their career wants to sound like—like a band doing a subpar cover of itself.

So they decided to switch things up. They swapped longtime producer Tucker Martine for John Congleton, who's worked with everyone from St. Vincent to Swans. They changed studios. And then, apparently, they went out and bought a bunch of synthesizers.

New single "Severed" certainly seems to support that idea. With its electro-pop gallop and lyrics referencing Trump's autocratic campaign rhetoric, it sounds like New Order in "Blue Monday" mode. Meloy describes the album as "an apocalyptic dance party," and if that's the case, the song—along with its psychedelically stressful video—is certainly an effective teaser.

I'll Be Your Girl is out March 16 and available for pre-order now. The Decemberists are launching a huge tour right around the album's release date that won't make its way to Portland until the end of June, where they'll headline two nights at Edgefield. Tickets for those shows are on sale now.

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A native Southern Californian, Music editor Matthew Singer gentrified Portland in 2008. Before ruining the city with his presence, he was an editor at his hometown's alt-weekly. He is an advocate for the canonization of the Fishbone and Oingo Boingo discographies, believes pro-wrestling is a serious art form and has no interest in Game of Thrones. As if all that weren't bad enough, he is also a big Lakers fan. Unfortunately, he doesn't plan on leaving the state anytime soon.